Baseball, Entrepreneurship, and Community

On the evening of Tuesday, April 17, the ExCollege sponsored an engaging event which brought together a panel of experts to help explore the renaissance in minor league baseball that has taken place over the last ten years.

The audience was treated to a lively discussion led by our panelists – Ted Tye, owner of the Worcester Tornadoes, Tony Massarotti, a columnist for the Boston Herald (and a Tufts alum who’s also taught in the ExCollege), and Andy Andres, who teaches one of the ExCollege’s exceptional courses, Sabermetrics: The Objective Analysis of Baseball.

The program began with a very informative Powerpoint presentation and talk by Ted Tye, who gave an in-depth look at what running a minor league team these days is all about. Then Andy talked about the statistical impact that minor league expansion has had on the major leagues. Finally, Tony talked about the everyday impact on families who want to see a game, and on the communities where minor league teams have been established.

A lively give-and-take with the audience ensued. And we even had a very special guest in the audience: Bill James, the renowned father of Sabermetrics and currently a Special Assistant to Theo Epstein, the General Manager of the Boston Red Sox.